IkpeazuRetoolsGovtMachineryinAbia
Simon Nwachukwu
Undoubtedly, the task of governance in a state as Abia is a daunting challenge. Residents of a state like Abia which literally cries for infrastructural development, urban renewal and economic upliftment among others, would have little patience with leaders.
Even when the machinery of government is on full throttle as it had been in Abia under Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, there would always be cry for more speed.
Ikpeazu may have heard that cry and decided to respond. And he has started responding by carefully picking a cabinet that would help him deliver good governance. One of those appointments is that of his chief of staff, Dr. ACB Agbazuere.
When a second term governor of a state appoints a new chief of staff, all eyes would certainly be on the appointee as the go-to man of the administration. The reason for this is obvious.
Unlike initial appointments made by the governor after his swearing in for the first term, second term appointments are more thorough. The governor now has benefit of on-the-job experience and knows exactly what he wants and who he wants.
This is the angle from which any discerning observer of the Abia State Government must view the recent appointment of Dr. ACB Agbazuere as new Chief of Staff to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
A press statement on the state’s official website said Agbazuere was until this new appointment, the General Manager of the Abia State Passenger Insurance Manifest and Safety Scheme.
He is also a former Chairman of the Abia State Chapter of the Nigeria Labor Congress, a former elected Executive Chairman of Isiala Ngwa South LGA and a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy who holds a Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate Degrees in Law.
The position of the chief of staff to the governor is a significant one since he would be the most senior political appointee of the state government. He acts as a senior aide with the responsibility of assisting and advising the governor in the administration and management of the daily affairs of the government. To be a useful aide, the position requires a man or woman who has a demonstrable understanding of the state and the working of government. Governor Ikpeazu is a man of high intellectual capacity who has matured politically and has a clear idea of where he wants to take the state.
For the governor to have picked a man with Agbazuere’s pedigree as his chief of staff, it is unmistakable that Ikpeazu craves a deeper connection with the people he had vowed to serve. Ikpeazu loves the people and wants to be a man of the people.
As Ikpeazu himself said in a recent interview when asked his greatest challenges in government, connecting with the people is on top of the list.
“One is social mobilisation, getting the people to go with you, because the new paradigm in development is that you get the people involved in what you are doing. For instance, you don’t throw infrastructure, you don’t throw your vision in just like that. You must market your vision. You must market the very essence of what you are doing…,” the governor stated.
He seeks to bridge that gap by bringing appointees who could help him achieve that connection with the people and get them to own his vision. Ikpeazu is a visionary in government, and he had demonstrated that in the last four years. But vision is just a destination.
A vehicle is required to get to the destination. The cabinet is his vehicle and when the vehicle is in good shape, it is most likely to arrive at the destination timely and auspiciously.
Since coming on board in 2015, Ikpeazu had been unrelenting in the actualisation of his dream for Abia as a model state. After four years, Aba has become showcase city for urban renewal. The administration has completed 76 roads and five bridges while works are ongoing on 96 other roads at various stages of completion. A large number of these are located in Aba.
With few resources chasing many projects, no administration can satisfy the yearnings of the people for better life. But Ikpeazu’s vision is to focus on key areas that have the potential to create multiplier effects on the state economy. One of these is the development of Aba as the economic and industrial hub of the state.
A functioning Aba would be a springboard for the development of the state as it would provide enough revenue to fund infrastructural development across the state.
But the governors second term has come with its own challenges. A growing industrial dispute over pension and salary arears is threatening to put a dent on the garb of the peoples’ governor.
Continuing gap in infrastructural development across the state and the capital city is a further challenge Ikpeazu would grapple with in his second term. And like every other state governor, he is going to battle growing public skepticism about government and public officials.
Every leader wants to live a legacy after exiting power. Those who do are those able to best confront the challenges in a people-centered manner. People the people first in every government policy and implementation plan gives the administration a human face. This have to be followed by responsible and responsive political appointees who are the faces and voices of the administration. They are the ones who help the governor find that vital connection with the people and make the wheels of the government run smoothly.
Governor Ikpeazu knows the importance of competent and diligent aides and has obviously found a way to bring them on board.
Wife of the Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun has presented her commitment to advance the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development ( ICPD) Program of Action, at a high-level conference convened by the United Nations Population Fund ( UNFPA) in Nairobi, Kenya.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the ICPD (which took place in Cairo in 1994), where 179 governments adopted a landmark Program of Action which set out to empower women and girls for their sake, and for the benefit of their families, communities and nations.
To that end, more than 30 world leaders, global organisations and NGOs gathered in Nairobi to commit to three major areas affecting the sexual and reproductive health of women and girls. The three core targets outlined were: zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet needs for family planning and zero gender-based violence and other harmful practices.
Abiodun, an SDG champion and founder of Ileri Foundation, pledged to work with government and other organisations to invest more in the health sector, with particular focus on women’s health.
She also committed to personally seeing to it that 20,000 girls and 10,000 women, receive life-saving information and education over the next three years, to enable them make informed decision about their future.
“Our outreach programs have already begun targeting girls in primary and secondary schools with age- appropriate information that they require to keep safe and healthy. Improving girl child education and menstrual hygiene through free sanitary pad provision in secondary schools in Ogun State, is also a high priority for us.”
She also pledged to work with government and law enforcement in Ogun State to strengthen laws that protect against gender- based violence and other harmful practices affecting women and children: “We aim to establish a crisis center for women by December 2020, with dedicated emergency numbers for quick response in times of crisis.”
The Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 is an inclusive platform, bringing together governments, UN agencies, civil society and private sector organisations to discuss and agree on actions to accelerate the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action, which is critical to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs) by 2030.